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Longitudinal analysis shows altered frontopolar cortex activity and postural control in athletes, indicating the effects of head impacts.
SignificanceThe effects of repetitive head impacts through contact sport participation remain poorly understood. Longitudinal assessments of their influence on neurophysiological and cognitive–motor changes can provide insights into brain function and athlete health.AimWe aimed to quantify the effects of repetitive head impact exposure from a season of ice hockey participation on cortical neurophysiology during single- and dual-task standing balance tasks.ApproachWe compared frontopolar oxyhemoglobin concentration changes longitudinally during standing balance tasks using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Similarly, we compared motor performance from postural assessments, quantified through inertial measurement units. To quantify cognitive performance, serial-7 subtraction task accuracy was recorded.ResultsFollowing a season of contact sport, increased frontopolar cortex activity was observed during both single- and dual-task postural tasks. In addition, longitudinal increases in transverse and coronal sway velocities were observed. Despite these changes in neurophysiology and postural control, cognitive task performance (serial-7 subtraction) remained unchanged from pre- to postseason.ConclusionsContact sport participation alters cortical neurophysiology and cognitive–motor performance, with more pronounced longitudinal changes in frontopolar prefrontal cortex activity during weight-bearing cognitive tasks.
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Zeff et al. (2025) studied this question.
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